Wieland, et. al. Actually it s based on The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German, Catholic mystic, stigmatist and

Message 2 of 5
, Feb 8, 2004

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Wieland, et. al.

Actually it's based on "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," by Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German, Catholic "mystic, stigmatist and visionary" (from the back cover of the book) who lived from 1774 to 1824. This according to "The Passion" web site: www.passion-movie.com. At about 314 pages, suffice it to say, there is a bit more detail than is presented in the Gospels.
She was born in Flamske in the bishopric of Munster, so you're probably closer to the source than we are in the states.

shalom Hevre, since the subject of Gibson s movie has been raised, I wonder if the script is available anywhere? It sort of made us chuckle over here, when

Message 3 of 5
, Feb 8, 2004

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shalom Hevre,

since the subject of Gibson's movie has been raised, I wonder if the script
is
available anywhere?
It sort of made us chuckle over here,
when they could have had Greek and Hebrew,
they chose Latin and Aramaic.
not overly in touch with 1st century Jewish sources . . .
--remember last month's challenge? not a single story parable except in
Hebrew, but then we don't have many parables in the last 24 hours, do we?
still there is some of the best midrashic repartee ever recorded in the
high
priestly trial--
I would nevertheless be interested in both the Latin and the Aramaic.

Actually it's based on "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus
Christ," by Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German, Catholic "mystic, stigmatist
and visionary" (from the back cover of the book) who lived from 1774 to
1824. This according to "The Passion" web site: www.passion-movie.com. At
about 314 pages, suffice it to say, there is a bit more detail than is
presented in the Gospels.
She was born in Flamske in the bishopric of Munster, so you're
probably closer to the source than we are in the states.

Actually, the official line is that it was adapted from a composite account of The Passion assembled from the four Biblical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and

Message 4 of 5
, Feb 8, 2004

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Actually, the official line is that "it was adapted from a composite
account of The Passion assembled from the four Biblical gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John" (The Passion of the Christ Official
Movie Web Site, http://www.thepassionofthechrist.com). So in other
words, yes, it is in the tradition of harmonistic Jesus films (the
exceptions being Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus
(1979, based on Luke), the Visual Bible Matthew and the recent Visual
Bible Gospel of John).

The report Michael Matsko mentions -- that it is based on "The
Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," by Anne Catherine
Emmerich -- was something that was often reported in earlier
publicity (e.g. The Passion movie fan site at www.passion-movie.com),
but it seems that Icon productions have now pulled back from this
somewhat. Even that the fan site is now only saying that the book
was one of the motivations for his desire to make the film and not
that it was one of the film's sources. That early, leaked version of
the script was heavily criticised for having been informed by this
book with its alleged anti-Semitism, and I've seen very little
mention of it subsequently -- and certainly nothing in any of the
official materials.

"It is crucial to realize that the images and language at the heart
of 'The Passion of the Christ' flow directly out of Gibson's personal
dedication to Catholicism in one of its most traditional and
mysterious forms - the 16th-century Latin Mass.

"'I don't go to any other services,' the director told the Eternal
Word Television Network. 'I go to the old Tridentine Rite. That's the
way that I first saw it when I was a kid. So I think that that
informs one's understanding of how to transcend language. Now,
initially, I didn't understand the Latin. ... But I understood the
meaning and the message and what they were doing. I understood it
very fully and it was very moving and emotional and efficacious, if I
may say so.'

"The goal of the movie is to shake modern audiences by brashly
juxtaposing the 'sacrifice of the cross with the sacrifice of the
altar - which is the same thing,' said Gibson. This ancient union of
symbols and sounds has never lost its hold on him. There is, he
stressed, 'a lot of power in these dead languages.'"